When They Roam
by TheSpottedDog
Summary: Starts Season 3 - Those idiots attracted the dead over and I'm the idiot who waited for them to arrive. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I looked at the rat in the corner and an idea, dread and guilt washed over me. "I'm so sorry little guy." Daryl/OC
1. You Can Run

You Can Run

It was hot. Sweat dripped down my face distractingly and I twisted my bobby pin into the keyhole of a rusted, blue door. I could have broken the door down but I didn't want to make any noise. That was the key to staying alive these days.

The door creaked open and I grimaced at the noise, looking around quickly to make sure nothing was creeping up on me. Luckily it was empty both outside and as I slunk through the door, closing it gently behind me, don't want anything surprising me from behind, the inside was quiet and empty as well.

My eyes widened with excitement as I processed what was in front of me. The store I was in looking completely untouched, food and drinks lined the shelves, clothes were hanging on rails neatly on the back wall and I could see hygiene products a plenty as well. With a drive that came from pure hunger, I grabbed and ripped open the closest thing to me, which happened to be a bag of chips.

 _Crunch._

The noise of my own chewing unsettled me as usually the only noise I permitted myself was breathing. I hadn't eaten chips in a long while.

 _Crunch._

I kept eating as I grabbed a much as I could and put it in the big backpack I'd brought with me. The happiness I was experiencing was making me tear up, I sighed through my next bite, I wasn't usually such a big baby but I could start to feel my ribs pushing against my skin as starvation started to seep in. I hadn't had a decent meal for a while.

 _Crunch._

I had just reached the toothpaste, swiping a few and a toothbrush when I heard it. A guttural breathing, a moan of hunger and a shuffle of feet. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I cursed quietly under my breath that I didn't clear the store before I started celebrating and ducked behind one of the promotion shelves advertising two for one on Gatorade.

 _Idiot, just because it's quiet doesn't mean there isn't anything in here._

I peered around the corner of my shelf and was greeted with an empty aisle. I felt the fear start to build as I didn't know where the dead was. I kept my ears wide open as I tried to locate it but it must have got tired or something as it had stopped moving.

Mustering my courage, I walked slowly in the direction I had thought the noises had come from, making sure to stick to the edges of the aisles just in case there was more than one. I gripped my knife tightly in one hand as I carried on, peering around the next corner and seeing nothing once more.

 _Where did it go?_

A shuffle of feet behind me made a shot of panic flow through my stomach. I turned around as quickly as I could and saw a singular dead woman making her way towards me, arms outstretched eagerly for a meal. I gulped and waited for her to get a bit closer before I made my move. Her ragged dress was hanging off her emaciated body making me cringe at how close my own body probably resembled hers. She was within stabbing distance now, I dodged her outstretched hands and pushed her onto the floor. She was taller than me so it was easier for me to throw her onto the floor and get to her head that way. I had learnt from my past mistakes.

I killed her quickly, breathing in staggered breaths at the smell of her. I scouted out the rest of the store, making sure it was completely empty before I started gathering the rest of the supplies I thought I might need. I grabbed extra medicine to restock my first aid kit and made sure to mark this place on the map before I decided to take my leave.

You would think, why doesn't she stay in the store where everything she could possible need is? Well I'll tell you why.

People.

People were dangerous now. They were even more dangerous than the dead, because they were unpredictable. At least with the dead you knew they wanted to kill you, people could lure you in with their kindness, then take all of your stuff and tie you to a tree to die.

But hey that could just be my past experiences, who am I to speak for all of humankind at the end of the world?

I opened the same rusty, blue door that I had entered through and went to leave. I stopped myself before fully exiting. What if someone else was to come across this place and take the rest? It was like a goldmine in there. Nothing had been touched it was always like the twilight zone. I hummed thoughtfully to myself, now that I had unlocked the door with my bobby pins I wasn't able to lock it back up.

My thoughts darted back to the one I had killed inside, she was locked in. She must have a key! Pleased with my thoughts, I went back inside and sure enough she had the key to the door. I took it off her body with a grimace, never thinking I would be one to rob the dead but desperate times called for desperate measures.

I locked the door behind me and froze.

"The Governor wants to make sure that we have enough supplies to last the rest of the month. Where did you say that store was Nick?"

The voices were too close for comfort and I threw myself into a nearby dumpster. I immediately regretted the decision when I almost gagged at the horrific smell that the rubbish that had been festering for months was producing.

"It should just be over here." I heard, slowing my breathing right down and covering my nose with my hand to try and keep from making any disgusted noise. I heard a pounding at the door I'd just locked. "I think this might be it, but there's no sign and the door is locked."

I heard another man join in on pounding the door. "Are there any windows? Check the back. There's none here. What kind of store doesn't have windows?"

"Oh shit! Walkers!" Nick shouted. I heard the twang of a bow and the thump of a body hit the floor. I was happy they were smart enough not to use guns as that would bring more of those things down of us. I hoped to God that they didn't open the dumpster, I'm not sure that they would do but you never know.

I heard a few more twangs and a few hits of what must have been another weapon and there was silence. "Ok I think we're good now Nick, go around the back and see if there's any windows." I grimaced as the dead hadn't scared them off and they were still going to try and get into my goldmine.

There was nothing I could do but hope they couldn't pick locks like I could and that the back had no windows. I felt the thud of something against my back and wiggled uncomfortably. There was a seconds respite and something moved again. I willed myself not to scream.

I shifted my knife into my hand from its holster and waited. Whatever was moving was now moving down my side towards my legs. I bit my lip harshly between my teeth, anxious to see what it was. It wasn't the dead, I would have been bitted a long time ago, so what was it?

A rat popped it's head up in the small amount of light shining through the cracks of the lid. We stared at each other and I debated about what to do. I wasn't scared of it, there was much more to be scared of in this world, and I doubted it would make enough noise for anyone or anything to find me.

"There's no windows!" Nick shouted, I jumped slightly and the rat skittered backwards into a corner with a squeak.

 _Don't you ruin this for me._ I snarled in my mind. I would kill it if I had to.

"How the fuck are we supposed to get in?" The first guy asked sighing. I imagined him rubbing his head in frustration.

"We can try break the door down again?" Nick suggested, his voice coming closer and a nudge against the dumpster told me someone was leaning against it.

"We tried that, we're not strong enough for that shit. We need a bigger guy like Graham."

"Let's go get him then."

"Yeah let's go." Their feet kicked up stones as they walked away, the rat and I continued to check on one another throughout my wait. I wanted those men to leave and never come back. If they were able to break into the store that was another place that I was not going to be able to use for myself. I didn't want to risk being spotted by them.

I also didn't want to lose all of those supplies.

I would just have to come back in a week when my supplies ran out and see if there was anything left for me to take.

 _Please, please, please let there be something left for me._

After another ten or so minutes, I didn't have a watch, I opened the lid. My eyes widened in pure fright as I came face to face with one of the dead. I must have timed that so badly as I didn't even hear it.

I dropped the lid down and felt the slams of hands on the side. I'm so stupid.

 _Those idiots attracted the dead over and I'm the idiot who waited for them to arrive. Stupid, stupid, stupid._

I looked at the rat in the corner and an idea, dread and guilt washed over me. "I am so sorry little guy."

It's whiskers twitched in response.

 **A/N I know it's been ages since I updated any of my other stories and I'm really sorry about that but I haven't been inspired for a while. I've just started rewatching The Walking Dead and this story was practically bursting from inside of me as I was watching.**

 **Finally the Plot Bunnies have forgiven me!**

 **Please leave a review and let me know if there is anything you want to see in this story, any mistakes or constructive criticism is welcomed!**


	2. Hope

**Hope**

After escaping the dumpster I had sheltered in I decided to find somewhere to set up camp. I had been walking for an hour now and I could see from the break in the trees a building surrounded by wire fencing. My heart gave a hopeful leap, fences were a rare commodity these days, ones that weren't broken or had the dead pounding against them, that is. I shifted closer, leaning forward onto a tree, both hands gripping the bark as I realised the possibilities that lay with this building.

 _It's huge._ I thought. _Look at all of that space I could have, none of the dead could come in. I would be safe._

Safe was a big word these days.

A hand grabbed my shoulder roughly, I had been so absorbed by the idea of a safe haven that I had completely forgotten where I was. My knife rose up at an incredible rate and I whirled around, stabbing the dead in the side of the head, pulling it out and watching the dead fall to the ground. My chest rose quickly as I struggled to regain a steady rhythm. I rested a hand over my heart and waited for my heart rate to go down as I scanned the area for any other threats.

Thankfully there were none. I resumed my position on my tree, looking forwards to plan my next move.

The building turned out to be a prison. Not really a place I had pictured myself living or even being inside but beggars can't be choosing and the way I was going, this was the best thing in my life right now. The ground seemed clear, there was no one, dead or alive inside that I could see. I pursed my lips, nibbling on the lower one as I pondered the best way to get inside.

I decided to climb the tree I was leaning on, resting on it to see if anyone came or went. Then I could make my decision to try and get inside. I couldn't see a hole in the fences so I wasn't entirely sure how I would be getting inside but that was definitely the next step if all went to plan. I hoped to anyone who was listening that this could be it for me. They should have an infirmary and kitchens in there!

That and the store I'd found earlier and I would be set for a very long time. There might even be gardens where the prisoners would grow things, I didn't know, I'd never stepped foot in a prison before. The world had just opened up to possibilities that were non-existent to me even ten minutes ago.

 _Don't get ahead of yourself._ I warned in my head, this wasn't a definite thing yet. _But oh God how I wanted it to be_.

I waited in that tree for hours, no one came nor went and the sun was starting to set. It was getting dark now and I was starting to get nervous, my visibility was going to be completely gone in about forty-five minutes and night time was always the worst. The dead were more active, I think, because it was colder it slowed the decay and allowed them to move faster. I took the backpack off and took out the rope I kept for emergency tree nights, I had learnt after the first night to tie myself up if I wanted to remain in the tree when I woke up. I got away lightly the first time but had nightmares for weeks that I woke up being eaten alive after falling out of the tree when I was sleeping.

I moved in the tree, wincing in pain and discomfort as my back scratched against the tree bark. I took out some food that I'd gathered earlier this morning, nibbling on the edge of a protein bar and grimacing at the taste, but as I said before beggars can't be choosers. I closed my eyes briefly but shot straight back up when something shot a tingle down my spine. I looked back at the prison.

 _Oh no._ _There's already people here._

I could see, just, in the distance as there was a small light being held up to allow the people holding it to see in the dark. The blurry shadow moved towards one of the watch towers, quickly opening the door and slipping inside. I banged my head gently against the tree trunk. How was I supposed to go inside now?

It was also too dark for me to be able to move anywhere else to find shelter so I just had to hope that no one spotted me. The darkness was a good thing for me at this moment, I wondered how many people were inside. I didn't trust them to be nice to me, the last time I got near a group... I shuddered. Best to leave before they spotted me in the morning.

I was becoming irritated, here was somewhere that I thought might be a safe haven for me and now I couldn't have it. I looked back up at the prison, not seeing much in the darkness.

Or I could slip around back and hide in one of the other cell blocks. The prison was huge. They might not even spot me and I was good at hiding. I had gotten this far, hadn't I?

* * *

Morning came a lot faster than I thought it would. I stretched in the tree, swinging my leg up when I noticed some of the dead wandering around below me. They hadn't spotted me yet but I was down wind and that made it easier for them to find me. I turned my head to look at the prison seeing a few more people outside, a group of men, some of them were in what I thought from this distance were prison jumpsuit and that made me feel very uneasy about going inside.

I couldn't let this opportunity slip by.

I watched for a few more minutes as the three non jumpsuit men, one with a crossbow and the other two didn't have weapons that I could see. They seemed to be showing the others the bodies of the dead, for a reason unknown to me.

The back of the prison seemed to be a better place for me to try and get inside, it wouldn't be protected if these were the only people living here.

My immediate problem was below, there were two of the dead just standing there, they seemed to know someone was around but couldn't tell where. I gripped my knife in my hand, undoing the rope that was still tied around me and stowing it quietly in my bag. I climbed down the tree, making sure that there were no more dead on that side and peeked my head out. I killed the first one quickly, the second one heard the noise and turned slowly but by the time he turned fully I had already put the knife in the side of his head.

I looked down at the dead bodies, seeing the gun in the man's belt. I hissed to myself as I realised I would have to touch him to get it out. I slowly bent down and grabbed the gun, feeling some skin attached and as I took the gun out some skin pulled away with it. I gagged.

That was disgusting. I shook the gun, after making sure the safety was on, getting rid of anything else disgusting on it. The dead were decomposing a lot faster than they had been, must be the Georgia summer getting to them.

I perked up, maybe if they just melted, they wouldn't be able to move around and try and kill me anymore. What a lovely thought.

The dead girl didn't have anything of interest on her person that I could take. Before the outbreak I would have been horrified at the thought of taking someone else's things, dead or alive, but there was no shame in doing it now. In fact, I would consider someone who didn't to be completely stupid.

With that out of the way, I stood up and put the gun in my own belt, I would try and find a holster for it or something. Did it even have any bullets? I took it back out as I walked and saw that it only had two. I would try and find some more next time I went on a run. Back to the matter at hand, I walked towards the prison, nearing the edge of the trees even more, the only thing hiding me from the people inside, I peeked up at the prison again seeing that the group had gone back in, were some feeble bushes.

That was enough for me, I crouched down and made my way around. No one had spotted me and I wanted to keep it that way. I heard some movement behind me, groaning quietly to myself as I realised it was another of the dead. I walked towards it, springing up from my hiding place to take it down quickly with my knife, the gun would only attract more of them as I'd learnt the hard way.

I looked back towards the prison, I was in the clear.

I kept walking, making my way around the back and couldn't contain my delight when I realised that the back of the prison had almost caved in. I could climb over the bricks, the dead wouldn't be able to follow without falling back as I could see that it would be quite a difficult climb.

 _Finally, it's looking up._ I ran over to the first set of bricks, climbing over them quickly.

 _I'm in._

* * *

 **AN: There we go folks! I hope this story isn't moving too quickly, I also realise there is absolutely zero dialogue in this chapter but that's what happens when you're all by yourself. Talking to yourself aloud in this situation would also draw walkers to her, I can't wait to actually call them walkers because calling them "the dead" is getting a little boring.**

 **But the next chapter we will see some more talking and we're going to come across some new obstacles to overcome. I have intended for this to be a Daryll/OC story but it will be very slow because as we all know, he is a bit of an awkward one when it comes to the ladies. As in, I think the furthest he's even got in the show is with Carol and with Beth, but both of them were mainly friendships. So we will have to develop this first.**

 **So let me know if you would like to see anything in the upcoming chapters, let me know if you like it and please leave a review. Constructive criticism is completely welcome and if you see any spelling mistakes please do let me know.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy it and I will hopefully have the next chapter out next Thursday which is my update deadline that I've set for myself!**


	3. Pity

**Chapter Three**

 **Pity**

Getting inside the prison wasn't easy. I stumbled up the bricks, cutting my arm on a particularly sharp bit of barbed wire and hissed in pain. I squinted down at how far away the floor was, clutching my new injury as blood started to flow through my fingers. I didn't want to slip down the slope of bricks so I took it extremely slowly. I had to take my hand away from my arm, leaving a trail of blood on the fence that I hung onto as I went down. I hoped that didn't attract any of the dead. I turned around, licking my fingers and getting the blood off.

It didn't stop it from dripping slowly down my arm. I huffed angrily at myself, sitting down against the bricks once I had fully climbed over and pulling my backpack off, rummaging through it.

I found the first aid kit and ripped the disinfectant wipes open with my mouth. I pressed one against my arm and hissed in pain. "Ow, ow, ow." I whimpered, wiping firmly and thoroughly.

I didn't come all of this way to die from an infection. Once I had finished that, I fumbled around for the bandages, I couldn't do stitches on myself so I hoped that by binding it tight enough it would stop the bleeding.

It was really hard to wind the bandages around my own arm. Being one handed at the moment really made me appreciate having two hands. It took a while but eventually I managed to do it, already feeling the blood flow being restricted, the tingles of pins and needles on the edge of being reality. I put everything back into the bag, not caring for organising it at the moment and stood up.

 _Time to go in_ I thought to myself, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I moved towards the back door, noticing that it was closed. I took a deep breath to steady myself and counted to three.

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

I opened the door, holding my knife ready and waited for something to attack me. I waited a moment longer after nothing happened, shifting from one foot to another and moving closer. I stepped over the threshold quietly, leaving the door behind me as I could see that the door led to an open corridor with nothing inside, but I didn't have a torch with me so needed the light from outside.

 _So far so good,_ I walked further into the corridor, flinching when something creaked loudly in front of me. _Please let nothing be there._ I didn't feel up to fighting any of the dead with this arm. I could feel it stinging still and switched the hand that was holding my knife. I saw a stone on the floor, an idea popped into my head and I picked it up to throw it far in front of me.

One of the dead, missing its two back legs, emerged from the shadows. It pulled itself slowly forward, making disgusting tattling noises as it did so. It reached for the stone with an unfocused gaze. I took my chance, stealthily moving out of its eyeliner and stabbing it quickly in the back of the head. I wiped the knife on the back of its shirt, looking down at it in muted disgust. I was becoming desensitised to how gross the were the longer I was around them.

 _What happened to the legs?_ I wondered, getting back to my full height and staring down at the jagged stumps it was left with.

I checked the rest of the walkway, not seeing or hearing any other floor or normal height dead ones. I made it to the end of thru corridor, seeing the dead body of a prison guard sat in a chair near the doors, clearly he used to let people through the door, and to my delight he had a set of keys on his belt. I grabbed them with a small victory hoot.

A hand grasped my injured arm, pulling it roughly to a waiting, salivating mouth. I gasped and pulled myself backwards, landing on the floor with the dead one following swiftly after me, its chomping jaws coming way too close to my face. My foot connected with its stomach and I pushed with all my might, managing to fling it off me and onto the floor. I jumped up quickly, ignoring the pain in my arm and stomping directly onto its skull. The adrenaline surged through me and I continued stomping long aged its skull was a pile of goo on the floor.

Breathing heavily I stopped what I was doing and lent forwards resting my hands on my knees. The mess that now coated the floor caused my stomach to roll. I turned away swiftly.

Stooping down to grab the keys I'd dropped in the struggle I made my way towards the nearest door and rested against it briefly before pulling it open. I could feel the adrenaline still in my system and wanted to find somewhere safe that I could sleep in tonight. There was nothing to greet me as I stepped forward into what appeared to be a cell block. A giant E was painted on the wall.

I peered into the nearest cell, there were blood splatters up the wall and stains on the bed and floor. I grimaced in disgust and moved onto the next cell. It was the same as the last.

Cleaning out one of the cells was a priority, I checked the rest of the block and found a suitable bed for myself. It was the one with the least blood splatters on the wall and once I stripped the bed it seemed clean enough for me to sleep on.

Maybe I could find some clean clothes or bedding tomorrow?

There was enough light that it didn't look very creepy but I was sure once the sun went down it would look a lot worse. I needed something that would give me light but not give me away should someone see it through the barred windows. I searched the cell I had chosen and found some paper along with a few scraps of fabric. I'm not sure what they were for. I also found a makeshift knife, some matches and what looked like cocaine. I had definitely stumbled on someone's stash of contraband.

The matches were a godsend and finding these supplies made me search through the neighbouring cells, hoping to find more. I found a lighter and more books, I would have to start a small fire in here, if I could maybe find some candles it would be perfect. I tested the keys on my chosen cell door and smiled when it locked. I would definitely be locking the door while I slept.

Safe. My eyes watered as the magnitude of what I had found hit me harder than it had the first time I saw the prison. I sat back down on the bed after taking the pillow from the top bunk and adding it to my own bunk.

 _Home sweet home_

* * *

I had found the infirmary. My bandages had soaked through with blood and I had started to sweat. I wiped the back of my hand over my forehead, trying to stop the sweat from reaching my eyes as I looked through the supplies.

Bottles of pills were lined up in a shelf in one of the cupboards and I was looking through them.

I didn't know the names of any painkillers or antibiotics but I knew I has to take something because my new temperature was definitely a sign of something bad coming.

The feelings of frustration were growing stronger the more tablets I found and I felt myself growing angry.

"Yes!" I shouted, too happy at finding some Aspirin to monitor the volume of noise I was making. Opening the bottle I quickly downed two pills and sighed in relief. There were so many bottles of tablets here that I wondered if I should try and find a book or something so I would know what they were all for. It would probably come in useful.

As I put the Asparin in my bag to take back to my cell just in case I needed it later, I heard the creak of the door. Whipping my head up, I scrambled backwards as I saw someone in the doorway, I had dropped my knife when I opened the pill bottle and it was out of reach.

It was a man, of medium build, scraggly brown hair covered his eyes and he had a slight beard. He held a crossbow directed at me, an arrow notched and racy to fire. My mouth dried up in fright as I realised I was at his mercy. His eyes flickered to the blood soaked bandages that I hadn't yet changed and I could feel the tension in the room rising.

"You bit?" He asked roughly.

I shook my head.

He nodded towards my arm. "What's that then?" He demanded, raising his crossbow. I flinched and skittered backwards, wincing as I hit my head on a set of drawers behind me.

"I'm not bit." I insisted. "It's just a cut."

He scowled at me, walking closer slowly and not lowering his weapon. "I'm gonna need to see that."

I frowned, confused. "Why?" I covered my arm, trying to protect it from his gaze. I knew, realistically, that he wanted to know that I wasn't going to turn into a firggin zombie while he was in the same area but I didn't know or trust him. I didn't want him near me. "Get back!" I hissed as he walked even closer. there was nowhere else for me to go and I started to panic even more, verging on hyperventilating.

He ignored me, pushing his crossbow behind me after seemingly assessing that I wasn't a threat, and knelt next to me. I froze like a deer in headlights. I watched carefully, unable to move, as he reached forwards and undid my bandages. The arm began to bleed faster as soon as it was taken off and the cold air hitting it made it hurt even more.

I looked at it sadly, forgetting for a minute that there was a strange man touching me, and wondering how slow my death would be after the infection fully settled in.

"You need stitches." He said after consideration.

I scoffed, finding my voice again. "Great, let me just set up an appointment at the hospital and I'll get right onto that."

He huffed in amusement, then caught himself before looking me in the eyes for the first time. The blue startled me as I was unsure how a man as rugged as he appeared could have such nice eyes. I was caught in the crossfire until he looked away from me. He nibbled on his lip, weighing up some kind of decision in his head.

"Pass me that needle."

* * *

 **AN: Daryl has made his appearance! I hope he's not too out of character but do let me know if you think he is. I thought that he might feel sorry for this small woman he's found scrounging around the infirmary looking for a way to help herself.**

 **He hasn't forgotten about the danger she might pose though, being so close to his group he wouldn't forget that. You have to admit she must look quite pitiful in that moment, bless her. I do love to throw my characters in at the deep end.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think and if you're enjoying it.**


	4. The Dead At My Door

**Chapter Four**

 **The Dead At My Door**

Daryl was sat in front of me, my arm pulled in front of me and he fumbled with the needle and thread he had found. I was losing more blood than I thought and he was looking slightly blurry at this point.

There was almost two of him.

"This is gonna hurt." He warned, pulling the thread through the needle with his teeth. I watched, bemused as he brought it to my arm, not focusing on what he was saying.

The needle went through my arm, snapping me back into focus as I let out a hiss of pain. Daryl smirked at me as he continued, ignoring my pain and keeping my arm still as I tried to move away.

"Stop moving." He snapped.

I scowled at him but did as he asked. My eyes wandered as he stitched me up and I once again wondered why he was helping me, he clearly was part of the group of men I'd seen outside so he didn't have anything to gain from helping me. Then again he didn't have much to lose either, the needle and thread he'd found were from the infirmary and were reusable after a quick sterilisation afterwards, that wasn't exactly difficult.

As my eyes wandered over him I saw the strength he was hiding in his arms, the muscles were there and I wondered how he managed to keep that kind of mass up when I had been struggling to find enough food to maintain my body mass. I was a lot skinnier than when this whole thing had started however much time ago.

The days all blurred into one when you were fighting for your life.

"You're all done." His gruff voice broke through my thoughts and I looked back at him, seeing his blue eyes staring intently into my own.

I looked down at my arm, seeing the dried blood crusted over and the stitches a vivid red against my pale skin.

"Thank you." I said earnestly, taking my arm back and gently resting it against my side.

He chewed on his lip, neither of us moving from our crouched positions on the floor. I looked around again, seeing my backpack near me and pulling it closer. "I should probably go." I said, starting to stand.

"Where are you going?" He asked suspiciously. "The prison is full of walkers."

I felt the bubble of irritation inside me. "No offence, but I don't know you. Thank you for helping me but now I have to go." I stood up fully, he followed suit much more graceful than I.

"Hey now, girl!" He shouted behind me as I walked away. "You ain't gonna last much longer by yourself."

I whirled around, my backpack slapping against me, and scowled at him. He matched it. "Not that it's any of your business but I've been doing just fine by myself and I'll continue to be just fine."

He scoffed angrily. "No one can be alone anymore."

I looked him up and down sarcastically. "I don't know what kind of _arrangement_ you were thinking of but I'm not interested."

His scowl deepened. "That's not what I was offering." He paused, waiting for me to move again and when I didn't he continued. "Look I've got a group." He had my full attention. "There's women, a kid, some protection that you need." He shifted uncomfortably. "I don't wanna be responsible for sending you off and finding you dead in a couple days."

I stared at him, contemplating what he said. I thought it was a little odd he was offering me help and I didn't know if I could trust him. I had been through a lot when it came to people and it seemed stupid of me to go with this man until I had more information.

 _What if they were nice?_

I could have slapped myself for such a childish thought. _If they were nice_ they wouldn't have a couple of convicts in their group. My thoughts flashed back to the men I had seen yesterday, I hadn't seen any women or children with them.

What if this guy was all pretend? I couldn't risk it.

"Thanks, but no thanks." His face hardened at my answer and he didn't try and stop me as I walked away. I snuck back down the corridor I'd walked through, my knife back in my hand and I made my way back to my cell lock.

* * *

I had found a flashlight at the guards station I had walked past. It became increasingly important as night started to fall. I had lit the papers with the lighter I'd found and a few twigs I'd gathered from outside and the cell lock flickered in the firelight. It was eerie but much better than being in total darkness. The smoke wasn't as much of an issue as I had anticipated either, drifting out of the cell block on the breeze without much fuss.

My thoughts drifted to the man earlier. Daryl. His offer to join his group and what might have happened had I accepted. I curled into a ball on my bed, the blankets I'd found making the bed as comfortable and warm as it could be. It was fortunate for me that he hadn't spotted the keys in my backpack otherwise he would have known I was definitely staying in the prison, something I'm sure he figured out anyway because what kind of person would leave a relatively safe shelter?

A loud bang made me throw the blankets off myself and fall into the floor. My hands shook with fear of the unknown and I reached up to grab my knife from where I'd placed it before I went to bed. With it resting in my hands, my breathing slowed from the panicked gasps they once were.

I peeked out of my cell to see if there was anything there, I was happy that I had chosen a top floor cell because I was able to peer down without giving myself away. I didn't see anything, my eyes were glued to the door and a few more minutes went past before I began to move away.

Something flickered in the corner of my eye and I gasped, quickly covering my mouth with my hand to stop the noise escaping. A man was stood at the doorway, behind the bars as I had locked the door behind me as I came in. He stood there, hands curling around the bars and he shook the door, creating a loud clanging noise that echoed through the room.

He knew someone was in here, as his muttering carried through the room as well, I cursed myself at leaving the lights flickering as it was an obvious sign of life.

He slammed his hands on the door. "Open up!" He shouted. I couldn't see who it was but by the voice I knew it wasn't Daryl, his figure flickered in the firelight and I could just make out a jumpsuit.

My heart froze. It was one of the convicts.

"Open up, open up, open up."

I crawled back into my cell and fumbled for the keys, trying not to let them hit one another as I'm sure he would be able to hear it. I slowly and gently locked the door, cringing at the small squeaks it was making.

The man stopped hitting the door, cursing to himself and I could hear him start to run. A few seconds later I heard the groaning that accompanied the dead, a steady stream of them walking past the door and as I peered through much door, a few had decided to take up residence on the cell block door, their arms reaching through, hands grabbing at air and teeth snapping grotesquely.

They stayed with me through the rest of the night.

I did not sleep a wink.

* * *

I must have passed out because I woke up with my cheek on the disgusting sink in the cell. I scrambled away from it, rubbing my hands over my face and scowled at how I'd woken up.

I remembered what happened last night, my eyes darting to the door. I undid it slowly, gently to make minimal noise and sighed in relief as I peered over the balcony bar and saw no more dead at the door.

I hung the keys on my belt, walking a bit to see how much noise they made. I frowned after the first step, taking them off and putting them in my pocket instead. It was less comfortable but less noisy so I took that as a plus.

My plans for today involved finding the kitchen in this place and hoping the other group hadn't taken everything and if they had, going back outside to see if there was anything else I could take.

The life of a loner was always really fun.

I changed my shirt into something a bit less baggy so none of the dead would be able to grab hold of the loose fabric. Grabbing a protein bar for breakfast I put my knife into its holder and left the cell block.

 _Which way?_

I looked left and right, seeing no one and nothing dangerous so decided to go right. This was the opposite way to the infirmary so I figured the kitchen was more likely to be this way.

Keeping my eyes and ears peeled for the other group or any of the dead I walked quickly and quietly down the corridor. I saw a few recently re-killed dead and it made me feel nervous. I calmed myself down by thinking it must have been the man from yesterday and no one today.

I came across a set of double doors that had a chain hanging free from the middle. I pushed the door open nervously, finding the kitchen that I was looking for on the other side. I smiled and looked around, freezing when I saw a dismembered leg on the floor.

The smell coming from it was enough to make me gag. I lent on a nearby wall and gave a solid heave, it looked fairly recent and was starting to rot. I took a couple of deep breaths, holding my hand over my mouth to keep the smell and panic away. I skittered around the leg, hurrying over to the doors I could see at the back.

I opened the first one I saw. My heart dropped when I saw that it was empty. I opened the next one, it was empty.

The next was empty and one of the doors had clearly been used as a bathroom for a while because when I opened it I immediately heaved and vomited on the floor, slamming the door shut as I did so.

 _Its all gone._

My eyes watered, both at the pain of vomiting and the fact there was no food. An alarm blared overhead and I jumped in shock. The noise would bring every walker from outside in and all of the ones inside would get excited and start moving. Things could not have gotten any worse for me.

I heard feet moving close by and scrambled to shut the door, looking frantically around for something to stop the dead coming inside. Just before I shut it I saw the chain from outside and pulled it in, looping it around and around the handles.

The alarm continued to blare and I sat down against the doors, hands over my ears to block it out.

 _What the hell is going on?_

* * *

 **AN: Hi guys!**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, as you can see the action is all about to begin! As usual please let me know if you liked it, if you have any constructive criticism and if you would like to see anything specific in the next chapter.**

 **I hope everyone has a good Halloween, let me know your plans!**

 **Also thank you guys for your reviews they really do mean a lot to me and they give me a lot of confidence and motivation to continue writing.**


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